Mitigating the Effects of Abuse

Supportive relationships in adulthood can help mitigate the long-term consequences of being abused as a child, finds a study in Nature Human Behaviour. Previous research has found that abused children are more likely to suffer from physical maladies including heart disease, stroke and cancer later in life. In the current study, researchers examined data from more than 6,000 adults who took part in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. They found that self-reported social support in adulthood was associated with a 19 to 26 percent mortality-risk reduction among people who had suffered from severe physical abuse, moderate physical abuse or emotional abuse as children. Social support also reduced mortality risk among people who had not been abused, but by just 7 to 8 percent. (Monitor on Psychology)